As they reached the group her face paled at the sight of Mac's body, which lay next to the grave marker for Johnny. She ignored Pinkie and D's conversation as well as the new arrival as she stood, transfixed by the dark red stain that pooled around the human.

RD took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the wind in her mane before looking back to the now moving horde "let's see how you like this" she said going into a dive straight for the horde with a classic falling whistle she makes impact in the center of the horde and sets off a multi-color explosion.

she stands in the small crater looking around any Zombies that survived are scattered and dismembered now looking to the group ,who were far enough from the blast zone to only be knocked down, with a smug grin "how was that distraction"

The stranger rolled onto her back and quickly started tearing though her cloths, eventually pulling a tiny dazed pony from her multiple layers of fabric. "Yow! Sorry kid, didn't mean to crush you like that. You OK?"

Dinky shook her head and blinked several times. "What was that?"

"I don't know." The stranger gave Dash an odd look. "What the hell was that and why did you do it right next to a kid? Are you nuts or something? That thing just splattered a dozen bodies and you thought it was a good idea to do it right next to this adorable baby?" She held up the still dazed filly and pointed her accusingly at Dash. "Look at her adorable face! Her brains are probably all scrambled now! That can happen to kids if you shake them to much... I think!"

Ray watched the pink pony vibrate as D began speaking to her. Ray shrugged and took a step back towards Rarity "well nothing really special about the man he's a little over six feet, small afro, oh and he has a tattoo on the back of his leg that reads 'Daddy's Girl' but I'm guessing if he's not here I may have just heard him wrong" he trailed off getting lost in thought staring at Colgate who was looking at the corpse of the man she shot (the first time you kill one of your friends is always the hardest). he shook his head again "any-who if you were heading into town I would like to join you at least for the day" He was cut off by a sudden vibration in the ground.

"Hold on." The stranger pulled Dinky back into herself and examined her head, gently messaging her scalp as she felt for head wounds. "Hummm... Nope, your good." She gave Dinky a loop sided grin and must the small ponies mane. As Dinky giggled the strange turned her attention back to Dash. "But seriously, be careful with that FX cr... crab apples. You lucky you didn't brake every bone if your bone with the way you hit the ground hard enough to leave a crater." She frowned. "Are you OK? Your not, like, trying to walk off a broken leg or something?"

*Seriously, in the show Dash gets hurt plenty of times doing things much less dangerous then doing a sonic rainbow into the ground hard enough blow up ponies and humans with the force of the impact. Shouldn't she be kinda knocked out or hurt right now? Rainbow Dash is a bad ass, but she's not a super hero.*

Dr. G spoke to Ray. "Hello I'm Dr. Gibson better known as Dr. G. I recalled you asking who was in charge of this entourage. That responsibility has been left to me." Dr. G said pointing to Mac. "We'd like to move into town but I think we should bury our friend and perhaps allow Colgate to repent for her mistake." Dr. G said extending his hand out to Ray who took it. Then Dr. G began to dig tears still coming down his face. Rarity looked at Dr. G oddly. If you don't mind Doc. I'm going to try to find Fluttershy. I really need to talk to her." She said still unable to look Colgate in the eyes. Dr. G nodded. "I understand." He stopped digging for a moment and leaned over Mac. "I'm going to miss you my friend. (Check his pockets.) A voice rang in Dr.G's head. He reached over and pulled out a picture from Mac's right pocket. (Hmmm this seemed important enough to take with him.) Dr. G. thought then returned to digging tears still stinging his eyes.

Colgate looked away from Rarity, equally unwilling to look at her friend. "D, Pinkie, it sounds like Rainbow might need your help. We can handle... this." Then she turned towered the Doctor and began to shovel dirt with her hooves, the ring weighing heavy on her brow.

The picture Mac pocketed before leaving

The photograph had been folded sometime in the recent past, with a cress running down the middle of what was otherwise a very well maintained picture. The picture showed two people, a man and a woman standing on what looked like the end of the cabins dock. Both wore casual clothing and seemed filled with the energy and happiness of youth.

The man, unmistakable as Mac even however many years ago this image had been captured, had one arm draped over the woman's shoulders. His hair was shorter in the picture and he seemed slimier, but aside from that, both versions of the man where nearly identical.

The woman was laughing and holding a beer in one hand. She looked almost to young to be holding the beverage, though that could hardly be judged to accurately from the picture. Her free arm was warped around Mac's waist.

On the back of the photograph was a single word, written in loopy black letters: Sorry Along with a frowny face.

Dr. G nodded. "Keep me informed D. Should you need any help send someone to get us." Dr. G said authoritatively as D. left. Dr. G looked over to Colgate. "How are you holding up? I know this can't be easy. Want to talk about things? perhaps that may help you heal." Dr. G offered as he moved the dirt.

"I'm not the one who got shot." Colgate sighed. "So I don't know if I am the one who needs to heal." She picked a largish rock from the earth and examined it before tossing it aside. "I mean, I hardly even knew the guy and its not like we where really friends. I mean, he saved my life and took care of me when I..." She sniffed and returned to digging. "But I didn't have any sorta of personal relationship with him. I woke up, he was nice to me, I didn't trust him, I tortured a guy, he looked like he was gonna chew me out for it if he got the chance." She dug around a larger rock and lifted it out of the grave. "I mean, we killed a sea serpent zombie together, which was sorta cool in a terrifying way, but then it was just another set of fights."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her leg and looked at Doctor G. "You know, I think he never even really liked me. Not that he didn't like me, but I sorta feel like he thought he knew a pony based on what I promised him, which to someone like Mac must have been a really grate pony." Colgate's voice grew bitter as she looked down to the grave. "He heard that I could provide a cure and to him that made me a hero. I thought that he might want to just use me when I first woke up, but no... he thought I was the real deal. The one person who could make this all better as long as she had the right people at hand to get her to the magic 'fix everything' button. Then I woke up and he was left with just me and every time I screwed up or hurt someone it must have hit him doubly hard because it was not just wrong, but it was me doing the wrong things."

Colgate wiped her eyes aging. "What do you think it feels like? To be killed by someone you have all the faith in the world placed in, just as your really coming to terms with the fact that you had misplaced all of it? I mean, I shot him while trying to kill someone! His last thoughts would have been about how betrayed he was, how badly everyone had been in believing in me!"

Colgate smashed her face into the dirt. "And Rarity! Do you know what its like to love someone for something they are not?" She looked at Doctor G, her face splattered in dirt. "Because I have done nothing, but lie and act like a brute and screw up, just in time to show Rarity that trusting in ponies is a mistake."

Derpy hugged Dinky in a tight embrace "Oh Dinky! I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're ok!"

"Well we'd better get back to the others." said Brandon cleaning off his glasses "If you want you can come with..." Brandon turned to address his new friends when he finally got a good look at the woman who saved Dinky. (Cue "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright) " So..." Stuttered Brandon. " What's a nice place like you doing in a girl like this? I mean you come here often? I mean I don't believe I caught your name." (Smoothe move Casanova)

* I started writing this before reading the bit about the photo. I hope I didn't just flirt with the recently deceased Mac's girlfriend.*

The stranger snorted and patted Brandon on the back. "And its nice to meet you to. Now how about we head back to your friends and I will see about hooking you up with something for your troubles." She gave Brandon a grin and added. "And I am Kaitlin MacReady, but my friends call me Kat. So, do you have a name or are you just an adorably awkward super hero who swoops in to watch other people save the day?"

Dinky hugged Derpy back. "I missed you to mommy! Where where you? I got lost and I was so scared! Amethyst was with me at first, but then these monsters came at us and we ran into a weird hole and then I woke up and I was along and there where more monsters and then I hid in this boat and then miss Cat found me and gave me a chocolate bar!" Dinky took a deep breath, "Then we where on the boat and miss Cat said we where going to see her friends! Are you miss Cat's friend?"

Brandon blushed and chuckled. "Just call me Captain Awkward." He said "but my secret identity's name is Brandon." (Did those botched pick up lines actually work? More research is needed.)

Derpy was overjoyed that Dinky was safe. "I was lost too. I was looking for Time Turner. Do you remember him? He's the nice stallion who lives in the blue box outside Ponyville. But then I fell through a hole and ended up in a huge city. Then Brandon found me. He took me here and now Me and a lot of other people are trying to find away to make the monsters go away. I don't think we know Kat but maybe some of our other friends do."

Ray took off his suit jacket and folded it over a tree branch. "you look tired please allow me to take over for a bit" he said to G softly, lifting the shovel out off his hands and handing him a small pack of tissue. he took over and spoke to Colgate "You know. I do understand. A burden of the world on your shoulders, based on someone you didn't really know. The guilt that you never asked for or wanted. The guilt that builds up over mistakes that you didn't want to make. leading to desperation and anger. because well its All of the choices we thought would help, that we thought could make a difference in the end. But it all comes crumbling down and become forced to cover up our own horrible exposed mistakes"

He looked up at Colgate changing down to a serious tone and frown "I know that pain all to well and while it will be tough to come to terms with how he thought or felt in the end or how your lady friend feels about you. But the whole life goes on thing happens and everything will start eating at you on the inside and believe me over time it doesn't get better. so I'll save you the trouble of the what would he want cliché and ask you the one question that will make you hurt less. One that torments me because I never could answer. Here it is: What do you want, Colgate, what is it you want to do?"

"sorry" Ray said looking between the two returning to his normal curious tone "my inner school counselor took over there for a bit, but what I said did have some truth to it. There is no wrong answer, just plenty of loaded ones" Ray stuck the shovel into the ground "well I think the holes big enough"

Fluttershy flew to catch up with Brandon, Kat, Dash, and the others as they began to walk back to the gravesite. she felt happy that Derpy found her child and that Brandon seemed to be getting along well with the new girl.

Cameron eventually opened his burnt eyes (WHY DID SHE BLOW EVERYTHING UP RIGHT WHERE I WAS LOOKING) and saw Brandon swooning over the girl they just saved "Ugh, I'd rather stare into the heart of that explosion again" he said angrily.

"but my secret identity's name is Brandon."

"Good one 007, I think your in" Brandon blushed a deep red as he noticed Cameron standing behind him, Cameron's mood brightened just as much as Brandon's face. The girl giggled then looked at him sternly

"Weren't you planning on leaving us in there?" she said slowly walking towards him as he backed away

"Ahh, well, umm" he looked for an escape, even looking to Brandon for help "we should really, um, get moving now" Cameron said slyly slipping around her, he knew he saw Brandon crack a smile as he quickly walked past him down the path.

*

Octavia stood up from the bush which she had been blown into after the blast, "Rainbow are you ok?" she waited but heard no response from anyone except Cameron, Brandon and the girl talking she ran over to them as Cameron walked away "Do you know if Rainbows ok?" she asked Brandon and the girl